10 New Video Games Launching Next Week: ‘XCOM 2′ and More

It’s not even February yet, but we’ve already gotten a handful of excellent games, including the trippy music game Amplitude, the console edition of Gone Home, and the devilishly puzzling game The Witness. This week brings a heap of brand new titles from a wide variety of genres.

You can turn the world on its head in Gravity Rush Remastered, paint the city blood red in Not a Hero, fight to the beat in Crypt of the Necrodancer, and a whole lot more in the games releasing the week of February 1. Read on to find out which games look the best to you.

1. Tales of Symphonia HD

Platform: Windows PCRelease date: Monday, February 1, 2016

The Tales series of Japanese role-playing games has been fairly successful on this side of the ocean, putting out nearly a game a year for over a decade. The games tend to be standalone adventures about saving the world, with real-time combat that sets them apart from other JRPGs. Symphonia was the series’s fifth installment, launching over here on GameCube in 2004. It, too, riffs on the “save the world” plot, but it’s mostly done with style and charm here. Check it out if you’re itching for a JRPG to dive into.

2. Gravity Rush Remastered

Platform: PlayStation 4Release date: Tuesday, February 2, 2016

It’s no secret that the PS Vita didn’t sell in huge numbers, which means not many gamers had a chance to try this fun, inventive action game that has you flipping gravity every which way as you navigate a crumbling city. Thanks to this remastered edition on PlayStation 4, that’s about to change. The developers have taken the Vita game, polished up the graphics so they look fantastic on giant TVs, and brought it to a big new audience. Reviews have started trickling out already, and they’re looking pretty good. This game is a good bet for most PS4 owners this week.

3. Cobalt

You don’t hear about Mojang doing much besides working on Minecraft these days, but the company is publishing this game, a fast-paced action platformer in the style of NES classics like Contra and Ninja Gaiden. The difference is that Cobalt has a lot of modern ideas tossed in the mix, including challenges, competitive multiplayer, and bullet-time slow-mo. If you’re looking for a dose of adrenaline, check this one out.

4. Crypt of the NecroDancer

Platforms: PlayStation 4, VitaRelease date: Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Roguelike games are having a renaissance right now in the indie space. Generally, roguelikes start you off with nothing and have you pick up equipment and abilities as you progress. The trick is that you lose everything when you die, so you always start from scratch. Crypt of the NecroDancer has that basic setup, but adds a music/rhythm element to the gameplay. You and the enemies move to the beat, so you have to get in the rhythm if you want to succeed. This game was a massive hit with critics when it launched on PC last year, so it’s OK to go into the PlayStation versions with high expectations.

5. Tropico 5 Complete Collection

Platform: Windows PCRelease date: Tuesday, February 2, 2016

This tropical sim game originally launched in 2014 to mostly positive reviews, but it has received a steady stream of additional content since then. This collection ties it all together for one low price.

In Tropico 5, you play as a dictator who controls a vibrant tropical island. That means you use things like plantations and mines to generate revenue you can then use to expand your city and defend against invading forces. Think of it as SimCity meets Far Cry. If you’ve never played a Tropico game before, don’t worry; by all accounts Tropico 5 is a great entry point for newbies, thanks to its robust tutorial and steady difficulty progression.

6. Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth

When you think about monster collecting games, chances are you think of Pokémon first, since that long-running franchise has managed to stay relevant for 20 years now. Digimon is a similar, if less renowned, franchise. This installment puts you in the shoes of a hacker who can collect and train the titular digital monsters, and have them fight battles in his or her stead. Thanks to an evil entity invading cyberspace, you’ll have plenty of enemies on which to unleash your digital army.

7. Not A Hero

Platform: PlayStation 4Release date: Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Retro-style action games don’t get much more stylish, silly, or downright violent than Not a Hero, a game about a giant rabbit from the future who runs for mayor to clean up a city filled with criminals. The rabbit — named BunnyLord — hires you to gather a group of ultra-violent vigilantes and slaughter hordes of enemies. The over-the-top action will surely appeal to fans of movies like Kingsman and Django Unchained. Just try not to run out of ammo.

8. American Truck Simulator

Platform: Windows PCRelease date: Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Have you ever dreamed about a life on the road, driving a big rig, and delivering cargo across the country? It might not sound as fun as blowing up aliens, but realistic simulator games have an appeal all their own. You start with nothing, so you have to borrow a truck in exchange for a hefty portion of the payments you get from hauling cargo. Once you save up enough cash, you can take out a loan to buy a truck of your own. That’s when the real money starts coming in. Soon you can purchase garages and additional trucks, and hire drivers until you have a mighty shipping operation you’ve built from the ground up.

9. Fortified

Aliens are invading Earth, and it’s up to you to stop them in this gorgeous game that mixes tower defense gameplay and third-person shooting mechanics. With sci-fi graphics that look like they jumped off the cover of a 1950s pulp novel, and up to four-player co-op gameplay, saving the planet from waves of enemies looks like a hectic good time.

10. XCOM 2

Platforms: Windows PCRelease date: Friday, February 5, 2016

In this strategy game, an unpleasant group of aliens has invaded Earth and set up a tyrannical government meant to keep us lowly humans in our place. That’s not how you roll, so it’s time to fight back by guiding a group of rebels as they fight to take the planet back, one turn at a time. If this sequel is anywhere near as good as XCOM: Enemy Unknown, we’re in for a heck of a game. If you’re still not convinced, check out these reasons you should be playing XCOM.